SYDNEY: Organisers of London Fashion Week are capitalising on the recent boom in consumer fashion shows.

Fashion Exposed - along with boutique showcase Preview - has unveiled an extensive list of first time exhibitors at its upcoming instalment.

MELBOURNE: The new head of the textile clothing and footwear peak body has called on the sector to embrace a positive vision for the future.

Austrade's recent New York showcase of Aussie fashion has proven a hit with participating designers. Organised in partnership with wool marketing organisation Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), the Designer Fashion Showroom ran from January 23 to 25. It formed part of G'Day USA, the program created to promote Australian culture and product in the US.

Vietnam runs second ASIA: Vietnam's apparel industry is expected to overtake rivals India and Mexico to become the second largest apparel exporter to the US this year.

NEW ZEALAND: Top New Zealand fashion designer Claire Kingan-Jones has decided to downscale her business, cutting production back by up to half, to concentrate predominantly on retail.

ADELAIDE: Liza Emanuele has had a lot to sing about of late.Having recently given birth to her first child, the South Australian designer's business has also undergone its own transformation after she being chosen to dress the female members of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (AS0).

The parent company of Australian designer Charlie Brown has been fined nearly $18,000 after being found guilty of design infringement in the Federal Court.

SYDNEY: Apparel Group owned lifestyle brand Sportscraft appears to have established itself as Australian Olympian's brand of choice. The Waterloo-headquartered label last week unveiled the looks Australian athletes will be sporting at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

NATIONAL: Footwear designer Gabrielle Thompson has her parents tough regime to blame for finding herself as the newest player in Australia's luxury footwear market.

MELBOURNE: The founder and general manager of the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) has stepped down from her position.

Austrade Manila senior business development manager Eva Yazon offers exporters the low down on the Philippines TCF market.

And so it is that we face the loss of yet another great advocate for the Australian fashion industry. The imminent departure of Australian Fashion Council (AFC) general manager Zoe Edquist to establish her own consultancy business is a bitter pill to swallow coming as it does just weeks after the resignation of the Council of Textile and Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA) head Ashley Van Krieken.

Melbourne retailer, manufacturer and incomparable raconteur, Michael Francis, has again announced his retirement. He says his previous retirements were mere technical peccadilloes, but this is the real one. I believe him, since he's turned 73 and now has his sights on envirobusiness.

Getting a kick out of shoes February saw zany new footwear brand Fiebiger launching amid cocktails and shoes aplenty.

It might seem like Blak Basics designer Teresa Hodges is one of the fashion world's overnight success stories. After all, she has more than trebled her stockists after just two seasons of operation. But, as Nicole Curin-Birch discovers, none of this comes as a surprise to the 27-year-old designer.